Method of quenching



April 3) 1951 H. E, soMEs, JR., ETAL 2,547,053.

METHOD OF QUENCHING Original Filed Aug. 11, 1943 A TTORNE Y Patented Apr. 3,` 17951 METHOD oF QUENCHING Howard E. Somes, Jr., and Otto Marquardt, De-

troit, Mich., assignors, by mesne assignments,. to The Ohio Crankshaft Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application August 11, 1943, ISerial No.V` 498,184, now Patent No. 2,415,856, dated. Feb-- ruaryv 18, 1947.

Divided and this application-v November 3; 1945, SerialNo. 626,464

This invention, the application of which is-a division of our copending application Serial No. 498,184, filed August 11, 1943, now Patent No. 2,415,856, issued February 18, 1947, relates to the heat treatment of hardenable metallic articles, particularly to the quenching of such articles after heating, and an object of this invention is to provide `an improved method for quenching heated metallic larticles in connection with the hardeninguthereof.' Y A In o ne wellknown machine for .treating metallicy yarticles by heating and quenching, an electromagnetic induction heating head is moved along a surface to raisethe temperature lthereof to the critical, and a quenching headjis simultaneously moved along the surface immediately behind the heating head to direct a continuous sheet of quenching iluidiagainst the surface along a line extending across theentire surface closely adjacent the heating head. Upon relative movement (Cl. 14K-21.55)

improved methodfr quenching heated surfaces wherein the quenching uid is maintained in good quenching Contact with the surfaceV being 1 quenched throughout its entire path of flow.

betweeny the surface and the heating and quenching heads the entire surface is progressively heated and immediately quenched to produce the desired degree of hardness. e n l uAfter impingement on the heatedsurface the iiuid iiows yalong it in contact therewith and in a direction laway from the heating head. In the machine referred'to, which is designed to harden the inner surfaces of tubes, the quench head is provided with a nozzledirecting a continuous annular sheet of fluid on to the inner tubular surface, together with'an annular skirt or wall positioned closely adjacent the' surface being quenched and forming" therewith a confining path which compels theuid to owvalong the surface and in Contact therewith to complete the quenching operation. Usually, they heating and quenching operations are progressive and arev carried out simultaneously by relative movement between the heads vand the surface in closeproximity to one another.

While the quenching effect of such an arrangement has produced satisfactorily hardened surfaces, for example 41-40 steel having a hardness of from 58 to 6l Rockwell C, the purpose of the present invention'is-to increase the eliciency and improve the hardening effect of the operation described.

It has been observed that, under conditions found in the machine referred to,the sheet of iiuid flowing along the path between the heated surface and the quench head skirt tends to contractupon the skirt, and to draw away, to some extent at least, from the heated surface.. Y y

A further object, therefore, is to providean whereby to provide a quench of increased efficiency resulting in an increased hardening effect.

These and other objects which will be apparent from the following description are accomplished by the present invention, one embodiment of which is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a view inA elevation of a quench head constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention, showing the same'in conjunction with an associated electromagnetic induction heating head in operative position within a tube or cylinder, the inner surface of which is being progressively heated and quenched;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial section showing in detail the construction of the quench head skirt shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Although for the`purposes of disclosure the presentinvention is described in connection with the -quenching of internal surfaces, it will be apparent from the following description that various features, both of the method and apparatus are not limited thereto, but are'of equal utility in the treatment of other surfaces.

As illustrated, the present invention is shown in connection with an electromagnetic induction heating head I having a heating coil 2 carried by a laminated core 3 which is suitably supported by a mandrel 4. The heating coil is hollow for the passage of coolant therethrough and connects at its lower end with a ball valve`5 which 'is open only when lifted from its seat by a hollow pin 6 projecting above the upper face of a quench head 'I when the latter is in operative position immediately adjacent the heating head, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

For the purposes of disclosure, the invention is described in connection with hardening the inner surface of a cylinder or sleeve 8, but it will be apparent that the lpresent invention is not limited to the treatment of any specific article. The quench head 'I comprises an inner annular member 9 having a ilange I I formed at the upper end thereof and provided with a conical surface I2 which cooperates with a conical surface I3 forming the upper face of an outer annular nozzle member I4, to provide a tapered passage I5 for quenching fluid leading to the annular nozzle orice I6 formed between the parallel walls" Il and I8 of the inner and outer nozzle members 9 and I4, respectively. The walls I'I and I8 are connected to the conical surfaces I2 and I3 by curved walls I and 2G tangent to the surfaces I2 and I3, respectively, and are formed so as to provide a downwardly opening orifice which will project an annular sheet of quenching fluid against the inner heated face of the tube 8 at an angle of between 25 to 45 trated, the orifice walls are at an angle of about 32.

The inner and outer nozzle members 9 and I4 are threaded together as shown in Fig. 2, and the inner member is, in turn, threaded to the upper end of a hollow mandrel 22 having quench passages 23 in the upper end-thereof leading from the bore 2li to a circumferential: quench chamber 25. The inner nozzle member 9 has an annular wall 26 which encloses the circumferential quench chamber 25 when the parts are secured together. The wall 25 is provided with a plurality of openings 2l through which quenching fluid flows into the tapered passage l leading'to the nozzle I6. The upper end of the mandrel 22 has a bore 28 in which the hollow pin 6 is threaded having an axial passage 2S communicating at one end with the bore 23 and at the other end with a radial passage 3G communicating with a chamber 3l inthe end of the mandrel. When the quench and heat heads are brought together in operative association as shown in Fig. 2, the pin 5 raises the ball valve 5 from its seat to permit the flow of coolant through the tubular heating coil 2 outwardly through the quench nozzle chamber Si, passage 29 in the pin e, mandrel passages 32 to thespace between the mandrel and the inner nozzle member 9 from which the coolant discharges.

The mechanism so far described forms no part of the present invention and is more fully set forth in our copending application Serial No. 336,129, filed May 20, 1940, now Patent No.

The present invention relates to the control of .quenching fluid after its discharge froml the orifice Iand during the time it is owing along the heated surface of the tube 8, or other article, 'in the confining path formed between the article wall and the skirt 33 of the outer nozzle member IQ. For' this purpose, the skirt is provided with means for forcing the fluid into contact with the article surface by applying an impelling force to the fluid in the direction of the article surface during the flow of huid along the confining path, so as to overcome any tendency which the fluid may have to follow the surface of the piston skirt and draw away from the article surface being quenched. For this purpose, the skirt is provided with annularv shoulders 34 extending circumferentially around the quench head skirt and facing `the nozzle I6, whereby7 the quenching fluid is repeatedly impelled toward the article surface as it flows downwardly between such surface and the quench head.

As illustrated, the quench oriilce I5 directs the iluiddownwardly against the heated surface at an angle of approximately 32". Below the orifice the wall of the quench head skirt is coned inwardly on an angle of approximately 4 to the vertical. rEhe face of each shoulder 34 is formed at approximately'a 4 angle to the horizontal, or at aboutv right angles to the conical face 35. In the samer way, the skirt face between succeeding shoulders S is coned inwardly at about the same 4 angle. Usually, the spacing between to such face. As illusadjacent shoulders 34 is such that a land 36, or short face parallel to the axis of the head, and hence parallel to the heated surface, is formed just below each shoulder 3d, but the dimension of this land does not appear to be critical and may vary somewhat on different quench heads: It will be found advantageous to have the outer diameter of the shoulders 34 slightly greater than the outer diam-eter ofthe quench head skirt adjacent the orifice I6, but this does not appear to be essential to the successful operation of this invention. As shown in the drawing, this results in a relatively longer land 3l being formed just beneath the nozzle I6. It is important that the dimensions be such that a sufficient space is provided between the quench head skirt and the heated surface to permit the free flow of quenching fluid through such spaceV without any backing up above the orifice, such as would cause the fluid to come into contact with the heating head. As an example of satisfactory dimensions, the inner wallof a tube having a diameter of 6.500 inches has been successfully hardened by employing a quench head having a diameter at the orifice of appro-xif mately 6.375 inches and having shoulders of a diameter approximately 6.400 inches, each shoulder having a depth of approximately .039 inch. In operation, assuming an inner surface layer of the tube il is to be hardened, the heating and quench heads are brought into operative associa-` tion within the tube as illustrated. This'opens the ball valve 5 permitting coolant to flow through the tubular heatingl coil 2. Upon relative move'- ment between the heads and the article, the highpower, high frequency electric current passing through the coil 2 progressively induces electromagnetic heating currents in an inner surface layer o f the tube of such magnitude that the layer to which the currents are conned is quickly raised to a hardening temperature. Substantially immediately upon reaching a hardeningtempera ture, the heated material is quenched by quenching fluid impinged thereon through the annular orifice I6, a continuous circumferential sheet of quenching fluid being directedV thereby upon,rv the heated surface at such an angle, approximately 32, as causes the fluid to flow downwardly in a direction away from the heating head without any backing up of the quenching fluid around the heating head. r,Should the quenching fluid tend to bounce off the heated surface, or for any reason tend to contract upon the skirt of the quenchI head rather than flow downwardly Valong the heated surface,.the fluid will be repeatedly imf pelled outwardly against the heated surface by successively contacting the shoulders 34, Any fluid which tends to flow along the skirt surface flows into contact with the shoulders 34 andfis directed outwardly by such shoulders into engagement with the heatedsurface. The circumferential corners of the shoulders Eli are prefer ably very sharp so that the fluid will not tend to cling thereto but will ow freely oil the shoulder surfaces and against the cylinder wall.

As a result of this'invention, a highly eillcient quenching operation is obtained; for example; where rough machined surfaces have heretofore been difficult to successfully harden by 4heating and quenching, the present invention provides a quench which will readily harden such surfaces when heated to the critical temperature. It will be apparent that the invention can be variously modified and adapted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of quenching a heated surface which comprises the steps of: owing a thin stream of quenching iuid against the heated surface at an acute angle relative to the surface, fior/ing all the quench fluid along the surface for an appreciable distance, scraping oiT that part of the iuid reincte from the surface and redirecting such part of the fluid. again toward and against said surface.

2. The method of quenching a heated surface which comprises the steps of: owing a conu tinuous thin stream of quench fluid toward. the heated surface and at an acute angle relative thereto, iiowing all the uid along the surface for an appreciable distance, scraping o that portion of the fiuid remote from the surface at a plurality of points spaced along the length of the surface and. redirecting such portions again 'toward and against the said surface.

HO'WARD E. SOMES, JR. OTTO MARQUARDT.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the filo of this patent:

UNITED STATES A'PATErrre l-uincer Nanie Date 1,367,649 Jackman et al Feb. 1, 1921 2,670,889 Frickey et al. Feb. 16, 1937 2,292,758 Denneen et al May 2S, 1940 10 2,393,408 Soderholrn Dec. 1, 1942 2,312,597 Sonics Mar. 2, 1943 2,376,515 Soines May 22, 1945 FOREEGN PATENTS 15 Number Country Date 634,807 Germany Feb. 22, 1933 

